Page 103 of Nothing to You
Chopper her down.This really was a different life.
“What about the others?Helena, Myles, and Johann.Should I bring them?”
“Your team aren’t needed for the pitch.”Rourke told it straight.“Leave them at Mosaic for the routine stuff.You sell it in New York and come back to find out what you’re selling.”
“They might not like that.”
“I put you in charge.”Rourke was stern.“Yours is the face people want to see.This is your job.To head Huddle Hope.To be in charge.You have the ear of the money, that makes you the most valuable.We can replace others.”
To get to the top like Rourke and his friends had, being ruthless was a necessity.Sentiment wouldn’t get them far.
She’d say that she didn’t want to leave anyone behind, but Franco and Guillermo had grabbed opportunities to move on up the ladder in other locations.Huddle Hope meant something to her.Did it mean the same to the others?Maybe this was just a step on the ladder for them too.
“Okay, but I need Mieux.”
“The woman doesn’t like to sit still for more than five minutes anyway,” Zairn said.“She’ll be happy to jump states.”
“She’s always welcome at CollCom,” Knox said, smirking at Zairn.
“Hey, we’ve all tried it.We’ve tried to pin her down and she won’t have it.She’s a wanderer.”
Rourke had told her the same thing.
“Brooker is lucky to have her.Have you ever sent her to Cam?”
“No,” Knox said.“Because I know he’ll love her and want to keep her, and she never lets any of us keep her.Then whoever I send next will pale by comparison.”
“You don’t want to set standards too high,” Roxie said.“That’s the same criteria I used for my love life.Don’t aim too high.Take what you can get.Sevens need love too.”
Zairn squeezed her knee again.“Take what you can get anytime, Lola.”
A phone rang and Kintyre retrieved it from his inner pocket.“This should be interesting,” he said, flashing the screen at Lilya.
Stroking her bump, Lilya shrugged and explained as he answered.“Reeve Crosby.”
“He’ll want another exclusive.”
“He can want all he wants.It’s not happening.”
These people pulled together for a common purpose, not because they had to, but because they were family.Maybe not by blood, but in every way that really mattered.And they’d accepted her into their fold.It was an honor.One she didn’t take for granted.
THIRTY-TWO
NEW YORK, New York.Already it had been an adventure.Roxie’s Crimson tour featured tales and antics of the Crimson crew.Each location meant a new story and, wow, the woman could weave a yarn.Definitely wasn’t the standard tour.
It ended in her apartment.Yes, hers.Turned out Zairn had apartments in the building for his closest employees and friends.
She hadn’t checked the whole place out.Under time pressure, Roxie’s whirlwind, hand-waving explanation of where everything was happened fast.Then her friend disappeared to meet Zairn with the waiting press.
Flopping onto the couch face-first, her arm hung from the edge.Wishing there was someone to bring her wine, she couldn’t move and didn’t want to.What an exhausting day.
Rourke hadn’t seen her off.He’d been busy with Leon and a couple of other guys in the office as she bid farewell to her Hope colleagues.Mieux was the only one who came with her.She needed a change and didn’t like to be tied down.Much like her own sister.
On the floor, a few inches from her dangling hand, her purse flashed and made a noise she’d never heard before.Her purse didn’t usually flash.Her phone was the only thing in there that might ding that way.
Raising her heavy arm, she dropped it into the purse to rummage around until she found the device.She dug it out and shifted onto her side to check the screen.The whole thing was blacked out with a big red circle in the middle bearing the letter ‘X.’Still, it flashed and sounded again.A big red button.Hmm, no prizes for guessing who was responsible for the hijack.
She pressed the circle and spoke before he could.“Still stalking me?”
